Description

Richardt created hundreds of oil paintings, mostly of landscapes, castles, manors, and various tourist attractions. He was a recognized painter in his own lifetime. Today, his paintings are held and exhibited by museums and other public institutions in the United States and Denmark; two hang in The White House, Washington, D.C.

Richardt’s 1856 painting Niagara Falls was chosen to be the backdrop for the customary luncheon following the Second inauguration of Barack Obama in Statuary Hall. New York Senator Charles Schumer, the Chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, stated why he chose the painting: “For me as a New Yorker, Niagara Falls never fails to inspire a tremendous awe for the natural beauty of our great country. Then and now, the mighty falls symbolize the grandeur, power and possibility of America.”
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt (10 April 1819 – 29 October 1895) Danish-American artist, in Denmark known for his lithographs of manor houses, and in the U.S. for his paintings of Niagara Falls and other landscapes. Richardt was invited to America to paint by Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Clifton House Hotel was the first luxury hotel in the area that overlooked Niagara Falls from its fabulous position. The hotel was built by Harmanus Crysler in 1833 and housed several wealthy and politically important people. In the month of June in 1898, however, the hotel met a cruel fate when it was destroyed in a fire. The rebuilt Clifton Hotel met the same fate New Year’s Eve in 1932. The present twenty-two-storied luxury hotel, “The Sheraton on the Falls Hotel”, was not built until 1966.

57″W x 42″H x 3″D